FILM OF THE WEEK: Sunny Dancer - Reviewed by Roe McDermott

I recently heard a definition of grief that simply defined it as an unwanted change. It struck me because grief is so often spoken about as an absence, a person or thing that has been taken away, rather than the unwanted arrival of a new reality. Grief permeates Sunny Dancer in this sense. It is not the film's top note, nor the emotion it is most interested in lingering on: this is a buoyant, beautiful, funny and energy-filled coming-of-age film that is consistently very funny. But underneath its joy is an awareness of unwanted change, and of what happens when a child is forced into an experience that irrevocably changes the shape of their childhood.

Bella Ramsey plays Ivy, a 17-year-old cancer survivor who has been in remission for ten months and would now very much like everyone to stop treating her like a cancer survivor. Her parents Bob and Karen (James Norton and Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning, both brilliant) have other ideas, signing her up for CRF, or Children Run Free, a summer camp for teenagers who have experienced cancer – or, as Ivy immediately christens it, ‘Chemo Camp.’

Ramsey’s Ivy is sarky, sulky, defensive and very funny, with a prickliness that doesn’t quiet hide either her insecurities or her justified anger. Ivy has been through an experience far too adult for her age, but has also been robbed of some formative teenage life experiences, leaving her mature and immature simultaneously; inexperienced socially but hyper-alert to pity, desperate to be treated normally while no longer entirely sure what normal is, or whether it fits.

Her parents understand this, even when Ivy doesn't. Gunning and Norton have relatively little screen time but make the most of every minute, playing up the role of the young and attractive parents who delight in embarrassing their daughter with filthy jokes and parental oversharing. But their affection and worry sit quietly underneath, their humour similar to Ivy’s snarky in its attempt to reclaim some normalcy and levity and even normal irritation with each other after years defined by fear.

This is what both CRF the camp and Sunny Dancer the film understand so well: that the loss caused by serious illness isn't confined to illness itself. There are years lost to hospitals and treatments, friendships interrupted, firsts postponed, identities reorganised around something you never chose. Both want to give Ivy the chance ace to just be a normal teenager, and the attempt is filled with joy, exploration, flirtation, partying, dancing, and inevitably some heartbreak.

At CRF, Ivy meets the relentlessly enthusiastic Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris), who runs the camp after losing his own child to cancer. Harris initially plays beautifully along the edge of cringe-inducing camp counsellor, purveyor of type of earnest, organised fun designed to induce eye-rolls in teenagers. The film gets plenty of comedy from that dynamic, with humour that veers happily between teenage rebellion, puerile coming-of-age jokes, sharp observations, and character-driven silliness.

But there’s a bittersweet edge to the privilege hidden inside teenage disdain.

Patrick is not running this camp because he loves lanyards and camping. The adults are here because something happened to them, too. Harris handles the moments when Patrick's relentlessly upbeat persona cracks with real tenderness – and small moments show the weight of what the teenagers have been through. Deep down, they know that getting to find adults embarrassing, getting to complain about camp activities, getting to obsess over sex and crushes and petty dramas are ordinary adolescent experiences - and not everybody gets to have them.

And so Ivy and her friends perform cynicism while desperately wanting what Patrick is offering them. They want to be silly, they want to flirt and dance and swim and make friends, they want to have innocent fun, and importantly, they want to be around people who understand all of this without requiring an explanation.

The young ensemble has wonderful chemistry. Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Jasmine Elcock, Conrad Khan and Daniel Quinn-Toye surround Ramsey with characters who feel lived-in, their teasing and bonding capturing how quickly intense friendships can form when you're thrown together in tight quarters for a summer. There is romance, sex, friendship, jealousy and heartbreak, alongside an amusing celebrity cameo best left unspoiled.

There is also dancing. A lot of dancing. Jaques returns to the motif perhaps one time too many, but it's difficult to begrudge a film about young people reclaiming their bodies in a joyous way.
It helps that the soundtrack is terrific. Scored by Este Haim and featuring The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The xx, The Cranberries and Goldfrapp alongside newer artists including Olivia Dean, the great score is infectious and energetic but also won’t date itself to the month of release.

It's a cliché to say a film will make you laugh and cry, but Sunny Dancer will, never glossing over what these teenagers have been through, and never overlooking the grief at what they’ve lost, but reminding them that life is still there, waiting to be lived. Funny, exuberant, emotional, it’s a lovely coming-of-age story that has more humour and depth than the familiar genre beats would imply. A gorgeous little gem.

• Watch the trailer below: